“This is the day which the Lord has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:24).

The theme of the third week of Advent is joy.  Gaudete!  Rejoice!

As I shared in “I Wish You Joy in the Lord,” God’s will for us is that we always be joyful (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18). How can we always be joyful when we experience so many hardships and sufferings?  Thankfully, we can be joyful because joy does not come from the absence of hardships or sufferings, but from the presence of Christ in our lives.

We must be active in seeking joy, not abandoning ourselves to sorrow, but consoling our hearts and chasing sorrow far away (Sirach 30:21-23).  In the prior post, which you can read here, I shared some of the ways in which we can seek, and receive, joy—through the Word of God, the commandments and wisdom, salvation, humility and patience, and one another.  Today, I would like to share three more sources of joy that the Lord has so lovingly given to us—His mission for each of us, the Truth, and Mass.  

Mission

The Lord has entrusted a unique mission to each of us (Mark 13:34; Ephesians 2:10).  As St. John Henry Newman beautifully said, “God has created me to do Him some definite service.  He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.  I have my mission.”  When we do the work the Lord has entrusted to us, we will find joy and a happy heart, serving Him with gladness (Deuteronomy 28:47; Psalm 100:2).    

Since God’s will is that we always be joyful, the work that He has planned for us is meant to yield joy.  In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we see that the master entrusted a specific opportunity to each servant, and the servants who did the master’s will were rewarded and called to join in his happiness.  However, the servant who did not trust in, or follow, the master’s will was left in darkness.  Likewise, when Jonah rebelled against God’s mission for him, he too found himself in the dark depths of the sea before God saved him (Jonah 1-2).  But we are called to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, trusting in the Lord and bearing the fruit of joy (Luke 2:27; Galatians 5:22).  

It will not necessarily be easy or free from sufferings, but there will be joy.  In carrying out the work the Lord had entrusted to him, St. Paul experienced prison, flogging, lashes and stoning, shipwrecks, and many other dangers; he said, “I have worked with unsparing energy, for many nights without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty, and often altogether without food or drink; I have been cold and lacked clothing” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).  Nevertheless, he was willing to give up more, explaining in his letter to the Philippians that, “even if my blood has to be poured as a libation over your sacrifice and the offering of your faith, then I shall be glad and join in your rejoicing—and in the same way, you must be glad and join in my rejoicing” (Philippians 2:17-18).  

Therefore, with God’s grace, let us pray about and carry out the mission He has entrusted to each of us.  To find contentment in work is a gift from God, “for such a person will hardly notice the passing of time, so long as God keeps his heart occupied with joy (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19).  May the Lord grant us the grace to remain joyful as we continue working for Him until the end (Romans 12:11-12; Revelation 2:26)!

Truth

We find joy in the Truth (1 Corinthians 13:6), which is Jesus (John 14:6).  A beautiful prayer this Advent could be to pray for the grace to see and hear the Truth in every moment, person, and situation that we encounter.  We are called to make our own the mind of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16), to see and hear as He does and also to see and hear Him at all times (Luke 10:23-24; Acts 28:27).    

Even when we go astray, God loves us so much that there is much rejoicing when we return to the Truth.  In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus asked, which of you with 100 sheep would not leave the 99 to find the missing one, and then when he found it, would not joyfully take it on his shoulders and rejoice (Luke 15:4-6)?  Jesus then explained that there is likewise great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).  

When we too return to the Truth, we are returning to joy.  The Scriptures describe wisdom as sharing the secrets of God’s knowledge and choosing what He will do (Wisdom 8:4).  “Nothing is bitter in [wisdom’s] company, when life is shared with her there is no pain, nothing but pleasure and joy” (Wisdom 8:16).  

Mass

Mass is also a source of great joy, as we rejoice in the presence of our God (Deuteronomy 12:12).  Better is one day in God’s courts than a thousand at our own devices (Psalm 84:10).  The Psalmist exhorts us to come into the Lord’s presence with songs of joy (Psalm 100:2), and God promises to make us joyful in His house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7).  The Lord our God is there with us—in the Word, in the Eucharist, in prayer, continually—“He will rejoice over you with happy song, He will renew you by His love” (Zephaniah 3:17).  

We too should respond joyfully.  As we give ourselves to the Lord, open to receiving what He has especially prepared for us this day, let us remember that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).  As we receive the gift of His Word, may we be “filled with joy at the bridegroom’s voice” like John the Baptist, who said, “this is the joy I feel, and it is complete” (John 3:29).

We can even smile during Mass!  As Sirach 35:7-8 says, “honor the Lord with generosity . . . Add a smiling face to all your gifts and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.”  We have every reason to smile—for God’s faithful love, for His promises, that He hears and answers our prayers, that He sees us and is with us, that we are His beloved.  This is not to say we should pretend to be happy when we are sad.  We are called to live in sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8).  But it is to say that a smile is an appropriate response to God’s love, and it could mean a lot to someone sitting near us in the pew in need of a smile.  As Mother Teresa said, a “smile is the beginning of love.”  

May our love of the Lord shine through our smiles, radiating His love back to Him and to our brothers and sisters.  God has put His own light and love into our hearts (Sirach 17:8; Romans 5:5) so that we too may shine like bright stars in the world (Philippians 2:15).  “The stars shine joyfully at their posts; when He calls them, they answer, ‘Here we are’; they shine to delight their Creator” (Baruch 3:34-35).  My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the next time we hear the words in Mass, “as in joyful celebration we acclaim,” let us acclaim joyfully, remembering that with God we have every reason to rejoice!